EU faces criticism for secret police data talks with Israel: Report

The European Commission has been negotiating a secret agreement to share sensitive personal data with Israel’s police service, despite internal legal warnings that the deal could violate international law and put Palestinians at risk, according to a new report by civil rights group Statewatch published by Novara Media.

The draft agreement, originally negotiated with the European police agency Europol, would allow the exchange of biometric data, genetic information, location data, political views, and personal details.

Critical research indicates the deal has progressed despite a 2022 ruling by the Council of the EU’s Legal Service which deemed the proposal legally untenable.

It warned that the agreement risks legitimizing Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and would undermine the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

Concerns have been raised about the potential misuse of data collected by EU police missions operating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Experts warn that if handed to Israeli authorities, the information could feed into existing military surveillance systems used against the Palestinian population.

"The data transferred via the agreement could be used as intelligence to support decisions to attack and kill Palestinians," legal expert Eitan Diamond told Novara Media. "The EU would run the risk of arbitrarily depriving people of their freedom and subjecting them to systematic ill-treatment under hellish conditions in detention."

Palestinian lawyer Raji Sourani condemned the talks, telling Novara Media that "the intended cooperation is rooted in the racist colonial mentality of Europe, and turns against us Palestinians, the victims of genocide."

While the draft text tried to exclude the use of shared data in occupied territories, it contained broad exceptions for "imminent danger to life" and the prevention or prosecution of general crimes. European legal experts called the exceptions far too vague.

The negotiations build on a narrower 2018 arrangement that explicitly excluded personal data sharing and the occupied territories. Critics said the commission’s continued pursuit of the expanded deal breaches its own diplomatic policy and ignores recent rulings by international courts.

Douwe Korff, a legal scholar affiliated with Yale University, called the commission's position "deeply concerning," pointing to the risk of sharing sensitive information with a state "credibly accused of genocide and other crimes."

Since October 2023, an Israeli genocide has killed 73,389 Palestinians and injured 174,266 others according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Despite a ceasefire signed in October 2025, Israeli attacks have continued in Gaza, causing further casualties and damage to infrastructure.